Importance of Industry-Academia collaboration in Hospitality & Tourism sector

By Dr Sheri Kurian

Tourism studies

Tourism industry is one of the largest growing sectors in the world. It provides recreation and relaxation activities for tourists which are beneficial for their physical and mental health. Besides, it helps them look at the world with a new perspective, offers them a break from daily schedules, brings their family closer, offers learning opportunities on culture and traditions, and so on. Several destinations in the world depend on tourism as a primary source of revenue. With tourism comes hotels, restaurants, car rentals, tour companies, recreational activities, etc, all of which creates employment for the local people. Additionally, it allows both tourists and the locals a chance to experience other cultures which broadens their understanding of the world. The income generated from tourism offers many benefits such as providing better education, infrastructure development, nature conservation and promote responsible tourism.

What is the status of Tourism Education at Present?

With the growing significance of this sector, it has become essential to educate individuals on the various managerial and operational aspects pertaining to their tasks. Schools and colleges have realised the value of tourism and have developed curriculum for students aspiring to become professionals in the sector. The contents within this curriculum included core subjects such as sector such as Destination Marketing, Destination Geography and Travel Operations Management, and supporting subjects like Managerial Accounting, Entrepreneurship and Business principles. Foreign languages are also thought as value added subjects.

In the last few years, a gap has developed between what the students learn in classrooms and they actually do in the organizations. Based on the feedbacks received from newly recruited industry professionals, most of them claimed that what they learnt in classrooms were of no relevance. For example, the core subjects in a tourism curriculum focuses on knowledge of the global tourism industry, industry structure, role of allied sectors, economic impacts, social impacts, environmental impacts, culture and traditions, basics of tour planning, destination knowledge, etc. Among these, only tour planning and knowledge of destinations were of help to them to some extant as only the basic knowledge was covered. They claimed that tasks such as Itinerary planning, Visa formalities, destination knowledge, customer negotiations, supplier negotiations, tour costing, event management, creating packages and several other tasks had to be learnt from the scratch.

How to address these Issues?

There are several reasons for this disconnect. For example, the tourism industry itself is so large and dynamic in nature that it is practically not possible to cover all the areas. To tackle this situation, specialized courses evolved in the fields of Airlines, Hospitality, Geography and Culture, etc, all of which have now transformed into full-time and part-time courses.

Another possibility is the structure in which their syllabus is designed. For example, at the master’s degree level, the core subjects are thought in the first year and the supporting subjects in the second year. By the time they are employed, the students hardly remember the topics from their core subjects and hence find it difficult to cope up with the demands of their work. For example, Global destination knowledge, which is a basic requirement for a travel sales job, is covered as a small topic in the first year whereas it should be covered throughout the course as in detail.

The lack of connectivity between industry professionals and academicians is also a critical issue. It is essential for both industry professionals and academicians to maintain a healthy network. This will aid both of them to stay updated with the current trends and share knowledge mutually benefit to one another. In the academic side, Seminars, conferences, guest lectures, and other events should be regularly organized. Efforts should be made to ensure students interact and network with these industry professionals. Regular meetings should be conducted to update and upgrade the syllabus and offer value added programs which will help the students once they are placed.

On the industry side, tourism professionals should invite academicians in travel-trade shows, road shows, etc and should assist them in research related activities. A number of research conducted in this field suggest that tourism organizations recruit employees who have just completed 12th grade. If they are provided three to four months of training, they are prepared to take up responsibilities. If organizations were to hire tourism students directly from colleges then it is absolutely critical for the academicians and industry professionals connect and work together and reduce the gap which exists. This will result in long term sustainable and mutually benefit outcomes for one another.

Another Importance aspect is providing Autonomous status to the Institutions offering Tourism and Hospitality programs. So that these Institutions will have the flexibility in designing their curriculum and offering value added programs more effectively than the affiliated Institutions.

About the Author:

Dr Sheri Kurian

Dr Sheri Kurian is Group Director – Hospitality& Culinary Arts, AIMS Institutes- Peenya- Bangalore.

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